Neoteric, Take Two
by White Replica
Summary: REMAKE OF NEOTERIC! First, some Fabulous Four copies come to our school as teachers. Turns out they're REAL, and Raven's kidnapping us with her Sleeper voodoo thingy. Now, we're H.I.V.E. students running for our lives. Oh wow.  READ THE WARNINGS INSIDE!
1. New Starts

**Lovely good day, all you readers out there! If you've stumbled upon this fic of mine, then either you were brought here by my note from the original Neoteric, or you were an old reader of mine and were shocked when you saw this, or you're new to me you were genuinely interested in the fic from the summary itself. Whatever the reason, hello!**

**If you **_**are**_** new to me, then let me introduce myself. I'm Replica, one of the first few fan fiction writers of H.I.V.E. Yes, I do like to take credit for that. Bahaha. Anyways, as I mentioned in the story summary, I am going to state all the warnings for this story.**

**This story is primarily about original characters (OCs) that go to H.I.V.E. This fic is mostly about their school lives, and will have a running plot. Also, this fic starts in sort-of present time, in the last week of June 2011, and will progress accordingly. There are quite a number of swears, so if you like to keep your ears clean, I do politely suggest that you read another fic. Also, it's an action story, filled with bad-asses and BAMFs (I hope), so expect a bit of blood. Nothing explicit, of course. Just saying. Also, there are homosexual references, so if you're a tad homophobic, then I don't suggest this fic. There won't be any making out or anything, so if you're entertained by sweet kisses and romances, then you're fine. **

**I hope you read that. If someone goes and hates on this, I will assume that you didn't bother to read this note, and will graciously tell said hater to **_**'go and duck yourself'**_**.**

**Yes. **_**Duck**_**.**

**Oh, and for you old readers, the beginning of the first chapter here is essentially the same, but once you get past the first two parts it goes off the original plot. And also, the OCs here have only read as far as Dreadnought, so they're sort of misinformed with their H.I.V.E. mojo.**

**Anyways, thank you for bothering with this fic, and I hope you enjoy! Cheers!**

**- Replica.**

**NOTE: MARK WALDEN OWNS H.I.V.E. I DO NOT OWN IT. If I did, it wouldn't get published.**

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><p>"—<em>We're going to do such great things together."<em>

A book violently slammed closed. The girl who had been reading grinned widely, and started rolling on her bed like a crazed dog.

"Finally…. _Finally._" She kept on saying, her short, curly hair sticking to her face, not bothering to tie the black, wet thing. After a while she stopped rolling, though still looking as insane as ever. She kept on repeating those words, until there was a knock on her door.

"What?" she asked, sounding irate, scaring a fourth grader who returned her a recently lost Math book.

"Thank you." She said gratefully, closing the door.

The girl sighed, flouncing to a small table and setting the book there. She plopped onto the bed, her hair spreading like a spider's web. She closed her eyes, as if she was sleeping, though she was actually daydreaming.

Though it was the middle of the day, she wasn't skipping any class or lesson, since school was cut short due to some strange meeting that the principal issued to the teachers. Odd.

So Andrea "Andy" Aquino spent her time daydreaming.

About her favorite book.

About the Higher Institute of Villainous Education, an institute she dreamed of going to.

Besides Hogwarts, of course.

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><p>The next day, her bus came by to pick her up and drag her to the tedious and dull establishment everyone her age knew as school. Strangely enough, she did amazingly well there. However, that didn't mean she enjoyed <em>being <em>there; it just meant she was lucky enough to have most of the teachers wrapped around her finger.

After a minute or so, her friend got down the stairs, out the dorm and to the bus. Nicolette "Nick" Salazar was a pale-skinned, dark-brown haired someone who had survived Andy's reign of terrorizing friendship for more than a year. Doing that made her a "" in Andy's book.

When she'd told her that, Nick hit her 'round the head.

"Good morning Ands." Her friend said in a British accent, though they both knew she was Filipino. Nick just happened to like the Brits.

"Hey Nick." The other replied, giving her customary casual wave with two fingers together. "So… hath ye finished ye booke named Escape Velocity?" she asked

"Yes." Nick replied bluntly. Suddenly, she broke into quiet laughter. "I felt so giddy on this page!" she said, showing Andy the page with the scene where Shelby had called Wing cute. Andy laughed.

"Of course you did."

Another friend and bus mate of theirs, Tammy Palmiano, jumped into the conversation. "I'm finished with the second book already, so I'll give it to you tomorrow." She said. "Thanks." Andy replied. "Can I borrow the second book?" another bus mate, Mel Danao asked.

"Is it okay if I give her the book?" Tammy asked.

"Fine." Andy said, pouting. "But I'm beginning to miss my second H.I.V.E."

* * *

><p>"… And don't forget to pass your projects by dismissal time today!" Their Art teacher reminded them, as their class filed out of the room for lunch. Once out of the evil boundaries of the classroom, Andy, Nick, Tammy and Mel literally sprinted across the hall, down the stairs, to the library. They tumbled past each other, Mel slapping her hand against the cold glass before anyone else.<p>

"FIRST!" she screamed. Andy followed, screaming "SECOND!" while Tammy and Nick pushed past each other, the latter screaming "THIRD!" when she touched the glass. Tammy glared at all of them, muttered swears under her breath as she handed them all twenty peso bills.

"I hate you all." She said. The other three laughed, until the librarian inside gave them the evil eye. Disturbed, they ran away before he could attack them with scissors again.

While catching their breaths, two of their classmates passed by, deep in conversation.

"… Those new teachers looked pretty cool. I mean, when do you get Scottish, Japanese and American teachers in a Filipino middle school?"

"Yeah! I mean, one of them even had their hair dyed white! Do you think that's even allowed?"

"I don't know, but if it is, then I'll be dying my hair blue…"

As they rounded the corner, the four girls shared confused looks before walking up to the two girls.

"Hey Liz, Lou, what'd you say about the teachers?" Mel asked.

"Well, we're not sure if they're teachers. I mean, they were in teacher-y clothing and they were waiting in front of the principal's office, so maybe, but they could be some VIPs for the principal-lady. But they looked so weird!" Liz replied

"Yeah." Lou added. "A bunch of them were foreign, and had really awesome styles."

"You think they're still there?" asked Tammy.

"Nah." Lou replied. "We saw them an hour ago. They're probably gone by now."

Tammy nodded, before waving them goodbye. She turned to her other friends.

"H.I.V.E.?"

"Definitely." Andy said, grinning.

* * *

><p>"….. And we were racing in HIVE using the Ottomobile!" said Andy, and they all laughed. Quietly though. They were in the library after all. When they'd got past evil-eye librarian, they snuck into the corner they all referred to as the Nook.<p>

The Nook was just the space between two bookshelves in the General Collection Section of their library. But for some reason, it gave a sense of comfort, since it was an enclosed area. Surrounded by books, Nick and Andy took to the habit of staying there when they could.

When they recovered from their laughter, Tammy spoke up.

"But seriously. Otto named the car that Nick repaired the _Ottomobile_? That's just so corny!" she said, almost shouting it out. Luckily enough, the librarians were on the other side of the library, so they had to section all to themselves.

Recently, Andy and Nick had come up with a new HIVE fan-fiction. It had involved the four of them going to HIVE. Currently, they were telling the story to their friends. However, the antics that were occurring in the story wouldn't ever happen in HIVE. They were pretty sure of that.

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><p><em>The Next Day<em>

They were all bored.

For some outlandish reason, the school principal decided to use up eighty minutes of school time to review the history of the school. Andy was blissful, as this covered up two subjects they were supposed to have. However, she hadn't anticipated the boring speech the old hag was going to give.

"….. Recently, our school had met a major issue under the governing of the former school principal. The funds had been gambled away, and we were all out of money. So our brother school had decided to break down the barrier between our all-girls school and their all-boys school to become an entire school, and support the Davis-Ascunsion School for Leading Women. After two months of negotiations, we finally received the permission to combine the schools, and become Thresh-Ascunsion Academy, in honor of our partner school, the Thresh Harris Private School for Boys."

Everyone knew that. Most of the people assembled were there when the school had gone on its decline.

"Instead of the usual 7-level arrangement of students according to age, Jason Gonzales, the president of Thresh, decided that students would have to take several tests concerning all fields, and would be arranged by their result, and not age. Gonzales decided it would be better this way, and would allow students to freely be with their kind, without being reprimanded by other higher or lower people."

That was why Andy, Tammy and Mel were with Nick, despite being a year younger. They enjoyed each others' company and intelligence.

The principal was about to say something else, when the recess bell rang. She had run out of time for her closing.

"At least after this, we have P.E." said Mel, shrugging. "Lucky for you." Tammy said, slumping forward onto the table. Saying that Mel enjoyed Physical Education was an understatement. She excelled in every single sport their school offered, mostly in martial arts, especially in arnis, the Philippines' national martial art. Luckily for her, that was the sport assigned to the seventh graders.

"Give me a cold room, hot chocolate and a laptop anytime. I'd rather have that than physical strain." Said Tammy miserably.

"Just because you like computers, doesn't mean you have to be physically challenged." Mel offered, but Tammy glared at her. They tried convincing each other each day why their interest was better than the other. With mixed results.

"Hey, we have the food." Said Nick, holding up two sandwiches in one hand, and two doughnuts in the other. Andy was right behind her, holding four glasses of strawberry milk tea.

"Oh, and please don't tell me that you guys have started on your 'Mine's Better than Yours' conversation."

"Actually we—"

"Woah-kay." said Andy, plugging two earphones in her ears. She did not like those conversations.

Tammy glared at her friend, though she immediately went back to her talk with Mel.

After thirty minutes of arguing, recess was over, and their class headed over to the basketball court, which had been covered with mats for the seventh grade arnis classes. The four girls, whilst chatting, grabbing their gear with all their female classmates. When they walked out of the locker rooms, Andy walking backwards to talk to her friends, they all froze.

Andy had continued walking, asking "Hey, what's gotten into all of you?"

She got her answer, when she bumped into what felt like a delicious muscled hunk of sexy man.

"I assume you're all here for P.E." the delicious muscled hunk of sexy man said. Andy slowly turned around, and looked up.

"I'm Wing Fanchu, and I'll be your new P.E. teacher from here on."

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><p><strong>Enjoyed it? Hated it? Want to improve it? Click on that adorable little review button and tell me!<strong>

**I will be regularly (FINALLY) updating every week and a half, so expect another chapter in about ten days. I actually wrote twenty-one chapters already, so rest assured I can update regularly, unless I'm crippled with illness or something to that extent. **

**Cheers again!**

**- Replica.**


	2. A Sexy Hunk of Delicious Man

**Remember when I said I would be updating regularly? Well, I decided to be nice and post two chapters in one sitting! Yay! Yahay! Woo! Yeah.**

**Warnings still apply. New OCs entering in this chapter. If you didn't catch the memo in the first chapter, this story is set in the Philippines.**

**Cheers!**

**I own nothing.**

**- Replica.**

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><p>"Damn, that deliciously sexy hunk of man looks good in P.E. shorts."<p>

A blonde girl in her twenties sat on the bleachers, watching the seventh grade class in their martial arts class. Her eyes flitted back and forth, from random students to their teacher.

"Damn, you're right." The girl beside her with red hair and a Scottish accent replied. "Just look at that _ass_—"

"God, you girls are disturbing." A white-haired British man said, walking up to them.

"But look at it!" the blonde exclaimed, pointing. The Brit shuddered.

"_No._ I'm _not _going to look at his _ass_." He said. "Besides, aren't you guys supposed to be in a class somewhere, _not_ ogling our friend's butt?"

"Mnh. Not yet. I've got a class later. After this sexy show." The redhead said, grinning. The Brit rolled his eyes, before dragging them away from the seventh grade P.E. class. The teacher who the girls had been ogling gave the Brit a thumbs up, before returning to instructing his students how to properly perform a sinawali. **(1)**

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><p>"That was actually a lot more bearable than I thought."<p>

The class had just finished, and after a few minutes of freshening up, everyone headed to their Computer and Technology class. The four girls began discussing the finer details of the arnis class they just had with Mr. Fanchu.

"Only 'cause the teacher was sexier than anything we've ever seen, Tamm." Nick said, grinning. Tammy grinned back in agreement.

"True dat." Mel said. They all looked at Andy, waiting for her answer. Instead, she looked rather annoyed.

"What?" Mel asked. "Someone got her panties in a twist?"

"How can none of you think that's really WING FREAKIN' FANCHU?" she exclaimed. The other three just sighed.

"Ands, we discussed this!" Tammy said. "We all agreed that he looked like an older version of Wing, and yes, he did share his name, but there's no way in Hell that he could be our Wing Fanchu!"

"You all agreed! I just whined and disagreed." She replied, disgruntled.

"Well, you didn't really put up an argu—" Nick was cut off, when the door of the computer room slammed open.

"Sorry! I didn't realize you guys were here!" said a redhead Scottish girl. Andy glared meaningfully at all her friends, who were dumbstruck. Their teacher led them in and made them all sit down, before introducing herself.

"I'm Laura Brand, but as your teacher, you may call me Miss Brand." She started. Andy glared again at her friends. The teacher pressed on. "Since I'm new, I'd like to know about all of you."

Each student walked up and introduced themselves, either giving long speeches about themselves, or barely saying anything.

"So… hey. I'm Mel Danao." Mel said. "I'm thirteen, fourteen this September 13 and absolutely in love with martial arts. I'm not so good with this subject, so I hope that'll change this year." Miss Brand smiled, before motioning for her to go sit down.

As she went back to her seat, she high-fived Tammy as she went up.

"I'm Tamara Palmiano, a.k.a. Tammy. I absolutely love Computer and Tech., and I guess I'm pretty good at it." At this, Miss Brand smiled. "I'm planning to become a CEO of a computer company and get rich by creating a new line of advanced artificial intelligences that would aid humans in re-creating a world where the environment hasn't been damaged. That, or they could just help aid people in general."

After her, Nick followed.

"I'm Nicolette Salazar, known as Nick, if any of you call me Nicolette I will castrate you." She started, giving everyone her familiar you-know-I-mean-that death glare.

"I'm going to become a famous writer and change the face of the earth with my heart-wrenching, moving writing, and I'll use my legions of die-hard fans to do as I command and be my servants, on the pretense that they may stay in my mansion as they please." Nick said jokingly. "But I _am _serious about becoming a writer."

"And as for me," Andy said, after Nick. "I'm Andrea "Andy" Aquino. My life speech is too long for me to say, so I'll shorten it: I'd like to become a successful chef or a famous Broadway actress."

"All right then!" Laura said. "So let's start on our work, shall we?"

* * *

><p>"Well that was dee-diddly dandy!" said Andy. "We could do without the sarcasm." Tammy said, glaring at her. Laura had popped a quiz on them during Computer and Tech., and as the name suggested, Andy was not prepared at all. She said that she would fail miserably and never get into college, never get a job and have to be reduced to begging for ice cream on the streets.<p>

Nick said she was just being too damn dramatic. Again.

"It could happen!" she replied, and there was a pause. They all laughed, as they trudged back to their bus. In truth, they could walk back to their dorms, if it weren't for the fact that it was a mile or fifteen away, and they had very heavy bags. That's why the Bus Service thing came up. Students who lived fairly farther away were assigned to certain buses. Luckily enough, they were all in the same bus.

Their old school hadn't been very big, but Thresh had been. **Very **much. It was about five sizes bigger than ol' Ascunsion. They needed cabs in Thresh back then, what more that Ascunsion had been added to their school grounds?

After a fair few minutes, they got to Dorm 7. They separated from there. They lived on different floors in the dorm.

The odd thing was, the schools weren't rich enough to separate the boys from the girls,so they lived together in the dorms. Obviously, parents had problems with this, so the school decided to set up cameras all over the place. The four of them thought that it was useless; they could have just separated the dorms and be done with.

The moment she parted from her friends, someone roughly slung their arm around her throat.

"Hey singer-girl!" he said, grinning from ear to ear. Andy rolled her eyes. This boy, Jaime Jacoby "J.J." Lacson, had been an annoyance to her since day one. He talked too much, and was way too nosy for his own good.

Well, actually… he wasn't as annoying as she imagined him to be. In fact, he was perfectly fine. Except for the fact that he _was_ a little nosy and a tad too talkative, she had no big problems with him. **(2)**

Andy really had no idea why she disliked him.

"Hello Jayj." She said flatly, throwing his arm off of her shoulders and walking away. J.J. pretended to shiver, before chasing after her.

"Hey! Why the cold shoulder?" he asked. "I mean, I haven't done anything wrong _yet_."

Andy sighed. She really couldn't hate this kid. "Sorry." She said, turning to him. "I just..." her voice trailed away, when she saw a girl approaching J.J. She froze, before running off. J.J. looked confused, before turning to see what she saw. He sighed.

"Damn. Things must really be sucking for them right now." He muttered under his breath, before walking off.

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><p><strong>(1) Sinawali: Arnis (national sport of the Philippines) move. It is the signature double-stick weaving pattern named after the Filipino word for woven coconut leaves, which are used for the walls of nipa huts, which are hand-made, traditional Filipino houses.<strong>

**(2) Lol old readers. Guess who _this_ was?**

**Liked it? Hated it? Tell me! Go ahead and review!  
><strong>

**- Replica.**


	3. Utensil Wars

**… So much for updating regularly.**

**ALAS! BLAME ME NOT! BLAME THE GOVERNMENT-FUELED ESTABLISHMENT KNOWN AS SCHOOL! (Then again, I go to a private school, so scratch the government tish…)**

**Anyways, it's officially summer on my side of the Pacific, so WOOT WOOT REGULAR UPDATING TIME. I will FINALLY be able to update (semi-)regularly, so yeah. I honestly _do_ hope this gets the biz it got in its first version.**

**Enjoy, my pretties!**

**DISCLAIMER: Own anything, I do not.**

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><p>"Do we have to?"<p>

The Fantabulous Four had just finished lunch, and were about to go to Math class. Andy tried protesting, like every single time they had Math. She HATED Math time. Their teacher was, according to Andy, the devil's messenger, sent to torture little children into insanity with numbers and equations.

Nick just thought that Andy hated it since she was bad at it.

However, a sweet change came upon the classroom, when a pretty blonde girl entered the room. They hadn't expected that.

"Good afternoon everyone. My name is Miss Shelby Trinity, and I will be your new Math teacher from now on." She said kindly, and they all stood agape. The Fantabulous Four especially, immediately recognizing this teacher.

"I'm sad to say that Mrs. Ongtao won't be teaching anymore, due to her retirement as a sixty-year-old teaching veteran." At this, half the class cheered. Miss Trinity simply smiled. "However," she continued. "I hope you won't mind me being here. I'll do the best I can to help all of you learn and have fun with Mathematics."

It was an obviously well-rehearsed speech, but it still caught the eye of most of the students. Others were just ogling at the teacher.

"Let's start, shall we?"

* * *

><p>"She's a really good teacher."<p>

Andy, Nick, Tammy and Mel surrounded one table, as they waited for the next teacher to come. There had always been a five-minute break between Math and Science classes, since Miss Carpio, their Science teacher, had to teach in another school building, and had to walk the entire way to their classroom. No one really minded.

However, before any of the four friends could reply, the teacher entered the room, four minutes earlier than anyone had expected.

Firstly, his hair was white.

It went downhill from there.

"OHMIGOD IT'S OTT—" Andy was muffled once more, this time by four hands. No one seemed to have noticed them, as they were at the back of the room.

"Good afternoon," he said. "My name is Mister Otto Malpense, and I will be filling in for your Science teacher, as she is on maternal leave. I hope you won't mind my teaching." He said rather sheepishly.

"First, I would like all of you to ask anything about me." He said casually. Andy was almost going to raise her hand, when Nick put it down.

"Nothing. About. H.I.V.E." She said, and Andy pouted.

"Why is you hair white?" one of their classmates asked. Otto chuckled.

"It's because of my albinism. At a young age, my hair was already white. That would also explain the pale complexion." He explained briefly.

"Are you a Veela?" asked another student.

"No I am not a Veela, but thank you for thinking that I am one." He replied kindly.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" asked one of the female students, and most of the class giggled.

"Sadly enough, no, but I do have a few female friends on my side." He said. Andy grinned.

"Of course he does," she whispered to Tammy, her seatmate, from the giggling of the teenage girls. "Laura and Shelby, that's who."

"Would you quit it with the H.I.V.E.?" Tammy asked pleadingly, but Andy shook her head.

After the quick question-and-answer session, they continued with the Science lesson. Luckily enough for Andy, she loved Science and answered almost every question like an encyclopedia.

"You're lucky you like Science." Said Mel, after Mr. Malpense left. "Because of your insanely happy energy high, Otto will probably pick you into going to H.I.V.E."

"See? She thinks that they're from H.I.V.E.!" said Andy, and Tammy and Nick sighed.

"Mel?" Nick asked, rubbing her temples.

"Yeah?"

"Do us a favor and stop encouraging her."

* * *

><p>"Hand me the Microplane and the lemons, my lowly minion."<p>

Andy was having fun. Pretending she was an evil overlord concocting a poison that would be as lethal as Anthrax proved to be far more entertaining than she expected. Not only that, but J.J. turned out to be a better minion than she expected. She decided that she had a new thing to look forward to for Home Economics. She had to admit though, J.J. was better at cooking than she thought.

Not as good as her though.

(And yes, Andy had a superiority complex when it came to cooking.)

She started grating the lemon in her hand, as her partner was preparing the meringue for the top of the lemon meringue pie. She just had to add the lemon juice and zest into the egg mixture and she would be finished with her filling.

"Hey head chef, you done yet?" J.J. called out. He'd put in the pre-prepared crust (provided by the school) into the pie pan, and was waiting for Andy's wonderful filling.

Yep, that was evidence of her gratuitous superiority complex.

"What did I tell you, my useless crony?" she asked, smiling. J.J. looked puzzled at first, before realizing what he'd said.

"Oh right. Sorry. Great evil overlord of the school kitchen, art thou done yet?" he asked, laughing. Andy laughed.

"Yeah, yeah. I've got it right here."

The pie finally got into the oven, after a long argument about how the meringue. Its creator wanted it smooth, while Andy wanted it spiked up. He argued it would burn that way. She reminded him who the evil overlord of the school kitchen was. He said he was retaliating. Pretending to be horrified, she brought out a pair of tongs, and shouted, "Fight then, you mangy cur!" J.J. grinned, before unsheathing a spatula and engaging in a heated swordfight which ended with a very pissed Home Economics teacher.

"So how's the cake?" Andy asked, as she put away her tongs and saw her three friends struggling to frost a chocolate cake.

"I still wish that we could have been grouped by friends." Said Nick, accidentally wiping chocolate onto her face.

"Oh please, you only want me for my talent and looks." Andy replied, smirking and winking. Tammy pretended to throw up in the bowl she was holding.

"Well, you look like you had fun in your impromptu sword fight." Tammy said. They all laughed.

"If only Mrs. Cantos didn't interrupt. I would've won." Andy said, feigning sorrow.

"I still don't get why there were only the two of you, and the three of us and everyone else." Said Mel, folding extra cocoa powder into their ganache.

"I asked. Because of the class's uneven number, two of us would eventually become the only pair. Apparently, fate _adores_ me." Andy replied, getting one of the spatulas and spreading the chocolate ganache in the middle of the two cake layers. As the teacher was outside, it wouldn't hurt to help a little.

She piled the cake layers up, frosting the entire thing with gooey chocolate. She piped out whipped cream swirls on the edge of the cake, and put the piping bag in Mel's hand before the teacher came back in.

When her pie had finished baking, she took it out and placed it onto the wire rack to cool. She grinned as she set her eyes on the lovely creation.

"Clean up everyone! Time to clean up!" hollered their teacher, and everyone headed swiftly to the sinks. There weren't many of them. Luckily enough, Andy was near the sinks, and J.J. had already begun cleaning up.

"Mangy cur." She whispered as she passed him.

"Crazy overlord." He replied, grinning.

* * *

><p>Andy eagerly awaited the next subject: Science. Ever since Otto had come to teach at the school about three months ago, the subject had become more interesting each day. Maybe it was because the students became intimidated by him when he was actually serious about sending a misbehaving student to the principal.<p>

"… And yes, April, Sirius is _not_ the North Star, it is Polaris. Yes Andy?"

"Is it true that there's a theory that our universe could just be a giant bubble and that there are other bubble-universes out there, like alternate universes?" she asked.

"Actually, yes, there is such a theory. The possibility of such universes is astronomical, and an access path to them would be very…"

And yes, Otto trailed off their subject of stars and went on about the theory of bubble universes.

It was very much interesting, but when Otto was about to go back to the subject of stars, the lunch bell rang.

"It's a good thing that Otto got off the subject of stars. We've been studying that topic for _ages. _The only reason why we had to review it was because April didn't listen to a thing he said in the original discussion." Said Nick, glaring at said classmate. She never did like the girl, ever since she slapped her in the fifth grade.

"Come now, _dah-ling_, you can't hold a grudge that long, can you?" asked Tammy. "It's unhealthy." Added Andy.

"Speak for yourself, _J.J._" Mel said. Andy snorted, amused. "Hey! I don't hate him _that_ much." She said in her defense. "He can be irritable, but—"

"Yeah, we know. You don't know why you disliked him, blah blah blah, he's not that bad, yadda yadda." Nick said. Andy replied by sticking her tongue out at her friend. The others laughed.

"Well, let's eat then! I'm hungry." Said Tammy, racing to the usual table.

* * *

><p>After a long day of class, the Fantabulous Four headed back to their dorms. Before Andy could reach her room though, she was stopped by her lowly minion.<p>

"Can we talk?" he asked, sounding worried. Andy was baffled. She was pretty sure he wouldn't be worried about the sword fight they had in Home Ec., and she'd never seen him like this. They weren't close, but still…

"You do know girls aren't allowed to fraternize with the boys in their dorm after 7pm." She said, checking her watch. "And this'll be cutting it close. Plus I've got homework."

"It'll be quick." He said. Andy raised her eyebrow.

"I think you should talk to my sister." He said quickly. However, she heard him clearly; clearly enough for her face to go stony. She turned and walked away.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, chasing after her. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around. Andy wouldn't look at him.

"I know things have been kind of weird between you guys." He said. "But the thing is, it's ruining—"

"It's not ruining anything, Jayj. There was nothing to begin with, and we all know that." She said flatly.

"Come one, Ands!" he said pleadingly. "When you settle that I really think you'll be able to accept—"

"There's nothing to accept, Jayj!" she screamed. Andy let out a big sigh, before rubbing her temples.

"Listen…" she said as calmly as she could. "You and I, we both know that she's never going to talk to me. She'll never listen to what I have to say."

"But you guys have been friends since fourth grade!" he said, exasperated.

"Had been." Andy replied harshly. "We _had been _friends. Until I did something so stupid she stopped talking to me completely."

"You know I hate being a bridge between you two." J.J. said. "It's like… Like being Hermione when Harry and Ron fought in the fourth book."

Andy chuckled sadly. "You know it's not going to work, Jayj."

"Come on!" he said, frustrated. "We're graduating this year! You know she's transferring to another school! You may never see her again!"

Andy sighed, shaking her head. "I've gotta go." She said, smiling miserably. "See ya whenever." Before J.J. could reply, she left.

"Ah shit." He muttered to himself.

* * *

><p><strong>Hmm... The plot thickens. Like soup.<strong>

**Like it? Hate it? Show some love to the little review button down below!**


	4. Looking Forward to the Weekend

**Hey look! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? If you think it is, then you must be _blind!_**

**It's an update, people! For the first time I have updated on _schedule! _I feel so proud. **

**It's more of a filler than anything else. But yeah. Anyways, read along now.**

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own a thing. Except for the first seven books of the series. But yeah.**

* * *

><p>"IT'S FRIDAY! FRIDAY! GOTTA GET DOWN ON FRIDAY—"<p>

"**SHUT UP!"**

It was two months since the Otto, Wing, Shelby and Laura lookalikes arrived at their school. After Andy's initial shock with the four clones, she grudgingly settled with the assumption that they were just crazy fans for the book H.I.V.E. and decided to steal the original characters' looks, however far-fetched that was. After a long and dragging day of school, the end of the week finally came; meaning for two days the students would go home and stay with their families. The Fantabulous Four had it good for that weekend, since Tammy, Nick, and Mel's parents agreed to let them sleep over at Andy's house.

Just because they were having fun though, didn't mean that the rest of their classmates enjoyed their rendition of Friday.

The four girls escaped their classroom before they were attacked by flying textbooks and pencil cases. Before anyone else could get there first, they ran out of the school building and jumped like ninjas into Andy's van.

"Drive us out of this Hell hole, Jarvis!" Andy exclaimed, pointing forward. Jarvis, her family's chauffeur, saluted and drove them out like a man in an action movie.

"You've been missed, Ands." He said, fist bumping his charge. Andy grinned. "You are awesome, you know that?"

"That's why I'm the chauffeur." He replied, smirking. Andy rolled her eyes, before settling into her seat beside her friends. Jarvis turned the sound system on, and hearing the first few notes, they all laughed.

"SEVEN A.M., WAKING UP IN THE MORNING, GOTTA BE FRESH, GOTTA GO DOWNSTAIRS!"

* * *

><p>"I'm surprised Jarvis hasn't quit, with all the singing we do."<p>

Once they stopped at Andy's house, they ran out the van, waving the chauffeur good bye. Andy greeted her parents, before racing up the stairs with her friends to her room. They threw all their bags on the floor, before landing on Andy's bed.

"Yeah, I'm surprised he values his job more than his ability to hear." Mel said, sniggering.

"He just loves us that much!" Tammy said, laughing.

"Actually, I'm more shocked about how my mom let me stay over!" Nick said. The other three girls nodded in agreement.

"Yeah." Andy said. "Every single time I ask if you can sleep over, she says no. And I've been asking ever since we were in fourth grade. I wonder what the change was about."

"I don't get it either." Nick said, grabbing a pillow. "When she told me I could go, I literally froze." Her friends gave her odd looks.

"Okay, maybe not literally." She corrected. "But I mean I felt like I froze. When I asked why, she said she wanted to give me some freedom. She even sounded teary and all that shit. She told me how much she loved me and how she would miss me. I mean, it's pretty awesome and all, but still… What the flippin' heck was she talking about?"

"Your mom usually doesn't let you do stuff like this, and normally she isn't that dramatic, so why now?" Tammy said. There was a long silence, until Andy broke it.

"GUYS! Stop worrying!" she said. "This is gonna be the weekend of our lives! At least, until we turn eighteen and can start drinking." She snickered. "Anyways, we should stop asking and start having all the fun we can squeeze into forty-eight hours!"

The other three girls smiled widely. Andy was right; until they all turned eighteen they had to make this their weekend.

Andy brought out a bunch of large soft drink bottles and passed them around. When everyone had their own two liter bottles, she raised her drink and said, "To freedom!"

Everyone cheered, toasting to their short time of freedom.

* * *

><p>Once the whole school had been cleared of students, most teachers decided to go out for some drinks and toast to a weekend free of classes. Some went straight home, saying they wanted a little quality time with their families and love muffins. A few stayed at the school to finish a few papers.<p>

Four went to the principal of the school to talk.

"They're going to be picked up tonight, yes?"

The principal of the school sat in her big chair, leaning on her big table, currently filled with big folders filled with files and I.D. pictures of four students.

"Yes." Otto said, leaning casually on his chair. "The rest of the faculty has been informed of their transfer to a prestigious school for advanced individuals. They all think that they're going to be little geniuses in a school that doesn't exist."

The principal chuckled. "Of course they do. That's what they all think when we remove a student in such a way."

"You're no stranger to this, am I right?" Laura asked.

"No." the woman in front of them replied, shaking her head. "I've been doing this for quite a while. Picking students out for _our_ school."

"You are an alumnus, are you not?" Wing asked.

"Of course." She replied. "No one knows about the school besides alumni, G.L.O.V.E., and a few others."

"Those "few others" who do find out usually turn up dead." Shelby added. The principal smiled.

"Of course." She said. She pushed a button on her table, and then a man with glasses filled with wine entered. He placed the glasses in front of them, bowed, and left.

"To the students." The principal said, lifting a glass.

"To their short-lived freedom." Laura added.

"And to H.I.V.E." Otto said, smiling.


	5. Welcome to HIVE

**I am SO dead, huh?**

**Well, to excuse myself: for the first week I missed I was actually sick. Second week was Holy Week, so my family was out the whole day and the day after. Third week, we visited our grandmother (_lola_) in the province. Last week… It's all a blur of time-travelling and doctors, to be honest.**

**So in return, I am updating this with FOUR chapters! Woot!**

**Here, the Fantabulous Four's reactions are a little more... _realistic. _So yeah.  
><strong>

**Same disclaimers apply.**

* * *

><p>"Shit…" Andy muttered, rubbing her forehead. "I really should stop drinking sugar before bed… goddamn killer headaches."<p>

She was about to get up, when she realized she wasn't lying down. She was sitting down, restrained, in a windowless black room. Andy froze for a second, hearing a gentle hum from under them.

She screamed.

"WHAT THE FRESH HELL?"

"DUDE. Seriously, don't scream in the fucking morning!" Nick yelled, sounding slurred. "Ah shit, headache…"

"GUYS! What the Hell happened?" Andy panicked, trying to escape her restraints. The belt around her waist wouldn't budge, and neither would her seat. She turned as far as she could to see where her friends were.

Tammy and Mel were just stirring from unconsciousness. Nick was rubbing her forehead, swearing under her breath. Andy looked around once more, though only seeing lights and a set of speakers hanging overhead, a metal ladder leading somewhere up there, and a lack of windows and a clue of where they were.

"Wha… where are we?" Tammy asked quietly, rubbing her temples.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say we're in a Shroud." Mel answered. The other three girls stared at her.

"Shit." She said, in shock.

"There's no way…" Nick said, sounding worried. "This is all just some elaborate dream we're all having, right?"

"If it is, then we drank _way _too much Coke last night." Tammy said.

"This is a joke, right?" Andy asked, pissed. "If this is a joke, we're not laughing!" She shouted at the ceiling.

"Andy! No one can hear us." Mel said.

"If there is someone up there." Nick added.

"Maybe the pilots can't hear us…" Tammy suggested.

"Hell no! This can't be a Shroud! We're not going to H.I.V.E., and THIS ISN'T FUNNY!" Andy screamed.

"ANDY." Nick said sharply. "Stop screaming. It's only making all our headaches worse. Besides, we've gotta stay calm here."

"Stay calm? We're in a metal room, unable to escape, in who knows goddamn where!" Andy exclaimed. "What if there's some crazy freak up there who's going to kill us?"

"You've been watching way too much Criminal Minds, Ands." Nick said. "Think about it: This is exactly how the Shroud would look like; at least, in the place Wing and Otto were in the third book. Besides, aren't you the one who kept telling us that the teachers back in school were the H.I.V.E. characters?"

"Yeah, but they were people who could copy anyone and anything!" Andy replied. "They weren't a situation we had to face!"

"Mister Fanchu was more like a SituAsian…" Tammy muttered under her breath.

"So in this situation, we have to calm down!" Nick retorted. Andy looked angry at first, and then she sighed, slumping in her seat.

"Why're you so angry anyways?" Mel asked. "I mean, we might me going to H.I.V.E.! What's wrong with that?"

"I dunno…" Andy answered, thinking back to her… her _last _conversation with J.J.

"_We're graduating this year! You know she's transferring to another school! You may never see her again!"_

'_Hell yeah, I'm never seeing her again.' _Andy thought sadly. She turned to her friends, who were still expecting an answer.

"I mean, I guess this is cool and all, but what about our families, huh?" Andy asked.

The thought made them flinch. The others hadn't thought about them.

"Well… I'm guessing they knew." Nick said. "I mean, the way my mom reacted… it was as if she'd never see me again."

"My parents _did_ say something weird to me on the phone a few days ago." Tammy added. "They said something similar to what Nick's mom said… as though they'd never see us again."

"Me too." Said Mel.

Andy nodded. "I guess mine did too."

They sat in silence for a while, before they heard a voice through the speakers.

"_Well folks, we'll be landing in a bit. When the doors open and when your belts are released you are to strictly follow the orders of the people who will greet you. Thank you for complying, and welcome to H.I.V.E." _

The Fantabulous Four almost fainted right there and then.

* * *

><p>"Ugh… What the flip?"<p>

J.J. stirred from his fitful sleep, waking with what felt like World War II happening in his head. He tried getting up from his bed, when he realized he was strapped down. Then, he realized he was in a chair, in a closed off room with only a ladder leading up to Gube-knows-where.

"What the…" J.J. words trailed off, when he looked to his right and saw a familiar face strapped down in a similar way.

"Jess?" he said. The girl beside him did not stir.

J.J. struggled to get out of his seat, which had him down like a criminal ready for interrogation.

'_I've got to stop watching Criminal Minds.' _He thought to himself, as he slumped against his seat in defeat. He looked to his right, and saw that his sister was still asleep. _'As long as she doesn't wake up and start panicking, I think we'll be okay.'_

J.J. relaxed into the chair for a few moments, before assessing his current predicament. He was in a metal room, with nothing to decorate it but a ladder leading to who knows where, a few lights and a set of speakers. There were no clues as to where they could be, except for the muted humming of what sounded like an engine below them.

"Where are we?" J.J. asked the ceiling. When he heard something stir to his right, he focused his attention away from the ceiling to his sister.

"Whaa… Jayj?" the girl asked groggily, trying to focus her eyes on her brother.

"Ah shit!" she exclaimed, grabbing her head in her hands. "Why the Hell does it feel like World War II is happening in my head?"

J.J. laughed hollowly, rolling his eyes. He waited for her headache to die away, to ask the universal question.

When his sister lifted her head from her hands, she looked around, shocked. She slowly turned to him, bewildered.

"Jayj… Where are we?" she asked slowly. J.J. shook his head in dismay.

"I honestly have no idea, Jess." He replied.

"Don't call me that." She snapped reflexively. When she realized what she'd said, Jess slumped against her seat.

"Sorry. Reflex." She muttered.

"Nah. 'M sorry too, J." he replied. They both relaxed into their seats, equally perplexed.

"Where the heck…" J wondered, looking at her brother. J.J. merely shrugged, and was about to answer, when a crackling voice from the speakers cut him off.

"_We will be landing in five minutes. I repeat, we will be landing in five minutes. When the doors open and when your belts are released you are to strictly follow the orders of the people who will greet you. Thank you for complying, and welcome to H.I.V.E."_

J and J.J. stared at the speakers for a while, before slowly looking at each other, sharing the same look of confusion.

"H.I.V.E.?"

* * *

><p><strong>Tell me what you think!<strong>


	6. A Kiss and a Bow

**Continuing my mass updating. Same disclaimers apply.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>After a while, the humming below the Shroud stopped. The Fantabulous Four didn't feel any change, not even a bump to tell them they'd landed. When the right wall of the room they were in opened, they nervously glanced at each other, before watching the door slowly go down.<p>

Once the door touched the ground, their belts unfastened. A group of burly men who looked like the H.I.V.E. guards in the book led them out, and told them to go up the large staircase ending with a huge metal door. The four girls followed silently, surveying the dock.

It was exactly as the book had described: filled with Shrouds and other pieces of equipment, kept bustling with all the people roaming around, fixing the aircrafts and such. They caught glimpses of other students being led up the staircase. It looked as though they weren't the last to get there.

As they approached the large doors, Andy abruptly turned to all the guards and technicians in the dock, blew a kiss, and bowed. The doors opened, and they went in before seeing the reactions on her audience's faces.

Andy's friends gawked for a few seconds, before breaking out into laughter. When everyone stared at them, they hastily stopped.

"What the heck was that about?" Nick whispered, still giggling. Andy shrugged casually.

"To ease the tension, I guess." She replied, sounding a bit grim. "I mean, _look_ at this place."

She was right; the tension in the air was so thick a power saw wouldn't cut through it. All the other kids in the room were barely moving. Whispers and shuffling were nearly nonexistent. Barely anyone was breathing properly.

"Bet'cha I can tell who's who in this crowd." Andy muttered, looking around. The others nodded, and listened.

"Kids who're frozen?" she started. "Like us, except they have no idea about H.I.V.E. Brilliant kids with normal families living normal lives until they came here. Sponsored," she added. "By G.L.O.V.E. workers who saw how good they were."

"The people bunched together, they have a vague idea of what's happening." Andy said. "Maybe they had suspicions about their family members being part of something big, but they didn't really know about it until now. Plus, they know each other, from the way they're holding each other close."

Andy observed the crowd for a few seconds before speaking again.

"Same with the calm ones." She said. "Except they don't know anyone, so they're not holding anyone close."

"The casual ones knew this was going to happen. They were probably told beforehand, or already knew about G.L.O.V.E. and H.I.V.E. before they came here." Said Andy.

Nick rolled her eyes.

"Again:_ way _too much Criminal Minds." she said. Andy ignored this as Tammy cut in.

"Then what are we?" Tammy asked. Andy grinned.

"We're the awesome ones, of course." She replied. The four of them grinned back, before turning their attention to the man on the lectern.

* * *

><p>J and J.J. waited in silence as they landed, and the door opened. When their belts had unfastened, they thought of escaping the guards, until they saw there was only one visible exit: a humongous metal door. The guards told them to head up the stone stairs to those very gates. The two of them slowly went up the steps, their heads turning in every direction.<p>

The hangar wasn't very busy; barely anyone was left. Only a few burly guards were walking around, and there were only two men in lab coats checking the _thing_ they just disembarked from.

When they reached the metal doors, they opened, leading them into an impressive room with polished black stone covering the floor and a majority of the walls. Metal doors were spread out on the walls, leading to what seemed like a maze.

'_Like a hive.' _J.J. thought, looking at the many guards stationed at each door.

J.J. placed his attention on the great granite statue of a large fist cracking the Earth, with the phrase "Do Unto Others" carved into the plinth at the bottom. In front of the structure was a short stage with a lectern in the middle, surrounded by about thirty other kids their age.

"Creepy." J said, frowning. J.J. nodded in agreement.

Once the doors behind them closed with a grinding shriek and a worrying crunch, a handsome but matured man stepped onto the podium. The man had fine lines, aging his face. He had a few stray gray hairs in his immaculately fixed raven hair, and he wore a black suit with a royal violet cravat to match. The man surveyed his audience first, before speaking.

* * *

><p>The four girls gasped, as Maximilian Nero stepped onto the podium. They glanced at each other quickly, before looking back to where they were supposed to be looking at.<p>

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to your new home." He said. At the same time Andy was mouthing his speech, having memorized it word per word. As he spoke, Mel's eyes went from Nero to a flickering shadow behind him. She smiled, subtly motioning for her friends to look, and when they did, they grinned as well.

"Raven." Mel mouthed.

"…Welcome to H.I.V.E., the Higher Institute of Villainous Education."

The four girls jumped a little, as the display shown in the book appeared right in front of their eyes. However, they did their best to contain their awe, to hide their surprise. After a few moments though, they all smirked again, noticing Wing and Shelby fighting as though it were some elaborate dance they were performing.

"Yep, still a delicious muscled hunk of sexy man." Andy said. The other girls agreed, nodding their heads.

When the display ended, Nero asked for their attention. The four girls, though interested, didn't really pay attention. They knew his speech by heart anyway, so instead, they waited for Nero to finish his speech before being led to Plotting Room 2.

It amused them to no end when they saw Otto, smoking casually on the chair at the head of the long table in the middle of the room. Every detail was spot on from the book, from the screens with maps and charts, to the dark wood, ten meter long table surrounded by leather chairs. Even the symbol of G.L.O.V.E was carved into the hardwood table.

"Damn… that boy with a cigarette is _hot_." Nick said, smirking. The other three girls rolled their eyes, but smiled as they focused their attention on their teacher.

"Hello everyone. Please take your seat anywhere." Otto said, uncrossing his legs. The four girls took their seats beside each other, near Otto. They fixed blank looks on their faces as Otto began speaking again.

"So you're the new meat of HIVE?" He asked, grinning sadistically. Andy had to admit that it sent an unpleasant shiver down her spine. She looked to her friends, who smiled nervously back at her.

"My name is Otto Malpense." He began. "You can call me sir, or Mister Malpense. It is my _pleasure,_" he emphasized his withering sarcasm with a grimace. "To introduce you all to a new year in HIVE. A short film will commence this tour, and then I will take you around the school. Afterwards, we will get your uniforms, and return here."

The large wall behind him suddenly lit up. The four of them realized it was a giant screen, disguised as a wall.

Strangely enough, the video presented was the exact same one that was mentioned in the first book of HIVE.

"Could they get any lazier?" Mel mumbled, and the four of them broke into the quietest of giggles.

"Now that you have an idea of what HIVE is like," Otto said, as the screen faded to black. "And what it offers, any questions?"

A young blonde boy raised his hand.

"Anything that does _not_ concern my hair?"

The young boy put his hand down.

Another person, this time a young girl, raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss…"

"Miss Betty Gordon." She said haughtily. Andy narrowed her eyes, suspecting a spoiled brat in the room.

"Her name sounds like bitter gourd." muttered Mel. They silently laughed again.

"How long do you expect us to stay here?" Betty asked, glaring at the teacher. Otto shrugged, thought about it for a few moments, and then smiled.

"Like the video said, you're expected to stay here for six years, unless you die or go missing." He replied. Betty looked shocked, grimaced, then sat down. Otto smiled again.

"I've tried." He replied. Everyone stared at him.

"I tried to leave in my first year." He continued. The Fantabulous Four looked at each other, surprised. They didn't expect this.

"Me and my friends from the Alpha stream… We thought were so close to escaping." Otto said. "Then, when it came to the last leg, we found out we never really had a chance. Nero, the headmaster, figured out our plan from the beginning, and stopped it before it started."

He sighed.

"But… I'm glad I never left." He continued. "You may be apprehensive at first, but after one year, even one month, you'll start feeling at home here."

Betty's frown softened a bit as she sagged into her chair.

"Any other questions?" Otto asked.

An Asian boy raised his hand this time, looking a little nervous.

"Yes?"

"You mentioned something about a stream…" the teen said quietly. "What do you mean by that?"

Otto smiled slightly. "Well, Mister…"

"Hi-Hideaki." He stuttered. "Hideaki Kaede"

"Well Mister Hideaki," Otto started. "The school is split into four streams. Each stream has a unique area of expertise that the students within said stream excel in. The school's uniforms help tell the students apart by stream.

"The Alpha stream— your stream, wears black. The Alpha stream specializes in leadership and strategy education. The three other streams— the Henchman stream, the Technical stream and the Political/Financial stream wear blue, white and gray, respectively."

The Asian boy nodded in understanding.

"Any other questions?" Otto asked again. Everyone shook their heads.

"All right then!" he said, suddenly jumping up and grinning. Everyone jumped back at his excitement. "Let's get those uniforms at the Quartermaster, shall we?"

The door they entered opened again. Otto led them out the door, and into H.I.V.E.

* * *

><p><strong>So yeah. Say what you want to say!<strong>


	7. He's Alive!

**Number three!**

**Same disclaimers apply.**

* * *

><p>After a quick tour involving knocking out a H.I.V.E. guard, a corridor brawl, and stray mutated plants attacking them, the group of thirty-five arrived at the Quartermaster.<p>

"Too bad Big Blue isn't here." Tammy whispered sadly. The other three girls were about to nod in agreement, when someone suddenly spoke up in front of them.

"Good day Alpha intake, and welcome to the Quartermaster." A synthesized voice greeted. The Fantabulous Four squealed like the fan girls they were, luckily hiding their obvious excitement among the surprised gasps of the other kids. Otto smiled warmly, before turning to the group and introducing his friend.

"Everyone, that was HIVEmind, H.I.V.E.'s very own artificial intelligence." He said, grinning. At those words, the doors to the Quartermaster slid open, revealing a round, pristine room paneled with several white slabs on the walls. A thin, pen-like structure stood in the middle of the room, which Otto instructed the group to circle.

A thin blue light beamed from the structure, forming a three dimensional, blue head. The group of Alphas watched, as the kind face of HIVEmind appeared right in front of their eyes.

"He's alive!" Andy exclaimed quietly, squealing under her breath. The others, though also confused, were equally as happy as their friend. Maybe it was because they'd only read as far as Dreadnought when they were taken to H.I.V.E., but the Fantabulous Four never really guessed Big Blue would actually be around.

"Once again, good day to all of you." HIVEmind greeted. The Alpha students were in awe of the floating blue head in front of them, the Japanese boy especially. Before Otto could say anything, Kaede spoke up.

"You're a fully functional artificial intlelligence?" he asked curiously. HIVEmind nodded.

"How long have you been active?" the boy asked. The Fantabulous Four snorted at the unexpected Laura-ness of the boy.

HIVEmind paused for a few seconds, before replying, "Five hundred ninety-three weeks, five days, ninety-four minutes and seven seconds ago." **(1)**

"April 17, 2000. _Essentially_." Otto added. Kaede's eyes bugged out in awe. Their teacher laughed, before turning to the rest of the crowd.

"Now, everyone, please do not move for the next few seconds, as HIVEmind will scan you for your sizes."

There was a near-unison of "huh?"s when a thin blue light passed through the room like a camera flash. There was some general surprise, after HIVEmind said, "Scanning complete." Many of the white panels on the walls opened up, to reveal small dressing rooms complete with mirrors and bins.

"Everyone, please take your own dressing rooms. HIVEmind will provide you your uniforms in there." Otto said, gesturing everyone away. There was a short bustle as everyone found their own changing rooms and as the doors slid closed.

Andy sighed. As a full set of clothing swooshed in front of her, there were instructions on a mini screen to take all her clothes off. As she changed out of her pajamas into the jumpsuit she critically examined how it looked on her body. Besides the unusual feeling of it on her skin, it looked rather nice on her.

"So this is what a jumpsuit feels like." She muttered, pressing down the creases on her shoulders. Once she finished up, Andy exited the cubicle, looking for her friends in the crowd. She found them, all examining their uniforms.

"Does this make me look fat?" Mel asked, and before they answered, they broke into laughter.

"No Mel, it doesn't." Tammy finally said. They turned to Otto, who seemed to be busy speaking with Wing Fanchu.

"Oi. Check it." Said Nick, pointing to the two.

"Wing is still a delicious muscled hunk of sexy man." Andy mumbled. Nick shot her a look.

"So's Otto."

"Wing's sexier."

"No, Otto is."

"Wing."

"Otto."

"Wing."

"Otto."

"Wing."

"Ott—"

"Alright, all of you." Otto said, calling their attention. "We'll continue touring the school, before we head on over to lunch."

Nick and Andy were still bickering under their breaths as they followed Otto out of the Quartermaster to see the rest of the school.

* * *

><p>Nero sighed contentedly, as he recorded the high numbers of the new H.I.V.E. students for the year. The latest presentation for the new Alpha stream had gone successfully, unlike the other time, when one of the Neanderthals handling the flamethrowers accidentally pointed the flames at the sword fighters and had set them on fire. That had been terrible.<p>

There was always a number of students who stood out from the others; ones who reacted differently. There were four of them this time. Nero pulled up the recording of the students, and observed a group of girls who barely flinched when their display started. They only observed and laughed as though they were watching friends dance on a stage.

'_How I love the technological advances in this school.' _He thought to himself as he easily pulled up their names. Andrea Aquino (_'She was the one who blew the kiss in the crater hangar.' _Nero thought, amused), Melanie Danao, Tamara Palmiano, and Nicolette Salazar.

"Oh." Nero said aloud. "Salazar."

Nero grinned, before putting away their files and watching the video again. They had a quick look of astonishment, before smiling all together. They focused their attention to something off-screen, which, when he checked, turned out to be Shelby and Wing. Nero chuckled, realizing that those four had been sent to the girls' school to "go undercover" as teachers.

When Nero pulled the other videos, he noticed that the Andrea girl was mouthing his entire speech. Not only that, but the Melanie girl had nudged them, and pointed something out behind him.

Nero's eyebrows furrowed. He knew very well that Raven wouldn't be found if she didn't want to be. This introduction was not a top priority thing, so she would have relaxed her security. Still, she wouldn't have been found if she wasn't sought out.

Unless they'd seen something else behind him, Nero couldn't figure out why or how they'd seen or known.

Unless…

"Oh." Nero said again. "_Oh_."

He finally understood them. How they reacted. How they knew.

Nero needed to call an old friend.

Nero pulled up another name, dialed in a number in an untraceable phone, and waited for the man on the other side to pick up.

"_Hello?"_

"Hello Mark, it's Max." he said, sounding amused. Nero pulled up the pictures of the four girls again. "I think we have a few of your fans in our school."

* * *

><p><strong>(1) <em>Yes, <em>I calculated that. _No, _I didn't use the website where you could do that in seconds. Of course not. I would never go to Easy Surf. _Noooo._**

**Tell me what you thought!**


	8. Of Reunions and Fangirls

**Last one for the day! Whew.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but copies of the seven books. And soon enough, when it comes out, Earthfall.**

* * *

><p>The four of them slowly made their way to the serving counter, taking in every detail the hall had to offer.<p>

Mel noticed the large oval table on the platform at the end of the hall. She nudged her friends, and pointed it out.

Otto, Wing, Laura, Shelby and Nigel, decked in a lab coat and reading notes while eating, were seated there. Otto seemed to be having a conversation with Nero, who sat beside him on the long table all the teachers shared. The four girls realized that a few of the teachers from the book were missing. Francisco and Pike were gone, most likely replaced by Wing and Laura. Contessa was obviously dead. Miss Leon was absent as well.

"Wait… Hey, guys!" Nick said, poking her friends. "I think Miss Leon's gotten back to normal."

The other three looked to the teacher's table, searching, and after a while, they all grinned.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but she's hot." Andy said.

She was right. Miss Leon, now in human form, had light platinum blonde hair, which had two spikes on each end of her head, like ears. Her eyes were brown, though she was sure that they shone gold when the woman turned at a certain angle.

"Awesome." Tammy said. "I guess they got her back into her body."

"But dude, she still looks like her cat!" Mel said, snickering. Tammy laughed as well, shrugging. "You know what they say." She said. "Owners look like their pets."

After a while, they finally reached the food counters. When they got their food (there was a funny moment where Nick was about to get some bouillaisse, when a fish head suddenly rose out of the black stew, freaking her out enough to literally jump), the four of them took a seat near the teachers.

Andy was about to dig into her macaroni salad, when she recognized a familiar back of the head. As though in a trance, she dropped her fork ("Ands!" Mel exclaimed. "Watch it with the dressing!"), and slowly walked to whoever it was she was staring at.

She tapped a girl, the person's shoulder. The girl turned around, puzzled for a few seconds, before shrieking simultaneously with Andy.

"OH MY GAHD, ANDQUINO!" The girl screamed, before giving Andquino a back-cracking bear hug.

"CLADORE!" Andy shrieked, hugging the girl with equal strength.

Nick, Tammy and Mel were surprised to see that their friend's shrill squealing didn't catch the attention of the other H.I.V.E. students. Sure, a few other reunions like Cladore and Andquino's were happening around them, but none of them were as bouncy as theirs.

"What are you doing here?" The other girl, Cladore, asked, settling herself beside Andy.

"Try guessing, smarta—" Andy was cut off, when Nick spoke up.

"Hey…" she said slowly. "Aren't you that Claire girl who left Ascunsion without a trace or reason, like, three years ago?"

"Yeah." Tammy added. "Andy freaked out back then when you left."

"And it turns out, you're here!" Andy exclaimed, beaming. Claire nodded in reply.

Claire Teoxon was an old friend of Andy. They had met in Mini-Theater club, back when the school was still for girls only, and when Andy was fourth grade and Claire was in seventh. When August came around, Claire had suddenly disappeared. Her parents said it was because she transferred schools.

"I guess, in a sense, what your parents said was true." Said Mel, shrugging. "They said you transferred. It wasn't really a lie."

"True." Claire replied, smiling. "Well, I've gotta go back and eat. See y'all whenever!"

As Claire walked off, Andy was still grinning as she dug into her macaroni salad.

Mel glared at the macaroni salad for a few moments, before digging into her food as well.

* * *

><p>After another tour around the school, they arrived once again to Plotting Room Two. There, on the table, were thirty-five Blackboxes.<p>

"These," Otto said, holding up his sort of battered Blackbox. "Are your own digital personal assistant, the Blackbox.

"This device will help you adjust to life in HIVE, and will assist you in your school schedule, assignments and so on. It is considered a major infraction of school rules if you do not carry this around, so please do NOT lose it. This is your single most important piece of school equipment. It is practically, waterproof, shockproof, and radiation-proof and will work in a vacuum as well. It _is_ unlikely that you'll be operating it in vacuum though." Otto considered his thoughts for a few seconds, before adding, "Anytime soon, anyways."

He showed the batch of students how to open it, though with many of them already expert in using an iPad, they opened it before he'd even said so. A chorus of hellos echoed in the plotting room, as HIVEmind greeted each new student.

"Hello to you too, Big Blue." Andy said, grinning. She glanced at her friends who were already exploring their Blackboxes.

"Updated… nice." said Tammy, using her fingers to manage her Blackbox screen. The other three followed, using the stylus that was inserted on its side.

After a few minutes with their Blackboxes, Otto got their attention.

"Now everyone," he started. "Put your Blackboxes away for now. I'll be bringing you to your accommodation blocks, which will be like your home for the next few years." He stopped for a bit, before starting again.

"Well, I'll explain it all when we get there." Otto continued. "Come on, everyone."

* * *

><p>"This," Otto said. "Is accommodation area seven."<p>

Everyone in their group marveled at what was in the vast high-roofed cavern that they were to call their home. There, like in the book, was waterfall in the corner, leading up to a crystal-clear pool at the bottom where some students were swimming. There were clusters of chairs and sofas scattered around the atrium, and, unlike in the book, there was a line of swanky coffee, hot chocolate and water dispensers opposite the waterfall, with small baskets of cookies and crackers between each dispenser.

The upper floors looked like they came straight out of the book, with plant life bedecked on the balconies, white doors leading to the rooms on each floor, and elevators shooting up and down each level.

"Classy." Mel said, smirking. The group approached two girls in the middle of a heated discussion.

"…I've told you hundreds of times Tony, _Leon/Otto makes no sense_!" a girl in a white jumpsuit argued.

"Like Wing/Otto does!" The Tony guy retorted. "Sure they're best friends, but Mister Fanchu is _dating Miss Trinity_, Lane!"

Lane snorted. "So? Shelby goes with Laura, Wing goes with Otto, and Nigel goes with Franz Argentblum!"

"It doesn't work, Lane! I've said hundreds of times—"

"I don't think that's an appropriate subject at this moment, don't you think?" Otto interjected, raising an eyebrow. Tony and Lane froze. Tony mumbled a quiet "I'll go now", before running away, leaving the Lane girl to her demise. The Fantabulous Four smirked, before giggling silently behind Otto's back.

Otto sighed, rubbing his temples, before introducing the girl to the rest of the group.

"Delaney Jones, these are the new Alpha recruits." He said, indicating the group of thirty-five standing behind him. Andy, Nick, Tammy and Mel stopped laughing immediately. Otto continued. "They're all residents of accommodation area seven, and if I remember right, you agreed to explain to them how life works here in H.I.V.E."

"O-of course, Mister Malpense." She replied, still nervous. Otto nodded, before briskly walking away.

Delaney "Lane" Jones let out a big sigh, before gaining her confidence and turning to the new students.

"So you're the new Alpha stream?"

* * *

><p><strong>And this is the last of the mass updating I'll be doing today. Enjoy and review!<strong>


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